Douglas C-47/DC-3 'Skytrain'
HISTORY
- The DC-3 was born when American Airlines requested that Douglas Aircraft enlarge its DC-2 transport to accommodate passenger berths. The Douglas Sleeper Trans- port (DST) became the DC-3 when the cabin was configured with seven rows of three seats. The first DC-3 was delivered to American Airlines on 8August 1936. By the end of the decade, most major airlines had DC-3's in their fleets.
- When World War II broke out, the DC-3 was quickly pressed into service. As the "Dakota" in RAF and Commonwealth service and the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" in U.S. service, the airplane flew in every theater and carried every cargo imaginable. Perhaps the C-4Ts greatest contribution to the Allied victory came in the China/Burmal/lndia Theater. C-47s flew "the Hump" (the Himalayan Mountains) through atrocious weather to deliver the supplies that kept China in the war. Post-war, the DC-3/C-47 still had important work to do. It returned to airline service until replaced by more modern types. It flew in the Berlin Airlift, during 1948-49.
- In Vietnam, the venerable Gooney Bird became the AC- 47 or "Puff, the Magic Dragon" when three 7.62mm mini-guns were mounted to fire out the left side of the cabin, creating the first of a new class of aircraft: gunships.
DISTINCTION
- Planes of Fame Air Museum's aircraft, although painted in the livery of Pacific Southwest Airlines, is actually a military C-47 being restored to flight as a C-47.
- World War II combat veteran
SPECIFICATIONS
| Status: Restoring to flight |
| Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Year: 1943 |
| Model: C-47/DC-3 Skytrain |
| Registration Number: N47TF |
| Serial Number: 12317 |
| Crew: 3 |
| Max T/O Weight: 28,000 lb. |
| Span: 95 ft. 0 in. |
| Length: 64 ft. 6 in. |
| Height: 17 ft. 0 in. |
| Maximum Speed: 237 mph |
| Cruise Speed: 170 mph |
Rate of Climb: 1,050 ft/min
|
| Power Plant: 2 x Pratt & Whitney S1C3G Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 1,200 hp. each |
| Range: 1,600 mi. |
| Service Ceiling: 24,000 ft. |
| Armament: None |
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